1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to the field of voting and balloting equipment, and more particularly to a portable voting booth and the construction of a leg-holding portion of the voting booth.
2. Description of Related Art
Some existing portable voting booths take the form of a suitcase-like enclosure with two hinged-together sections that remain closed for storage and transportation while opening about ninety-degrees for use on election day. In the open configuration, the first section provides a base having an upwardly facing surface upon which voters mark ballots or other vote-recording paraphernalia, with the second section serving as an upstanding rear wall of the voting booth. Two panels are included in the enclosure for use as upstanding left and right side walls that provide additional voting-booth privacy.
The enclosure also contains a set of four, multi-section, tubular legs. A worker at a polling place erects the voting booth by first assembling the leg sections. Next, the worker inserts an end portion of each leg axially into a respective one of four downwardly opening, leg-receiving bores (also referred to as sockets) that are included for that purpose at the four corners of the base. With the end portions of the legs inserted into the sockets and the base in a ready-to-use position parallel to a floor or other horizontal support surface, the legs extend downwardly from the base in order to thereby elevate the base above the floor. Voters cast their votes using the upwardly facing support surface of the base while standing at the voting booth.
Although such a portable voting booth can be quite handy and effective in many respects, the tubular legs sometimes drop out of their sockets during erection. This also tends to happen during movement of an already erected voting booth to a different location at a polling place. Dimensional variations are often the cause. Each socket typically includes a cylindrically shaped inner wall that defines an opening into which one of the legs is inserted. The cylindrical wall is dimensioned to receive the end portion of the tubular leg in a close fit. As long as the end portion of the leg fits in somewhat tightly, the leg stays in place. When the fit is too loose, however, the leg can easily drop out.
Although the effect of gravity tends to hold the voting booth together once it is erected in an upright position, the task of inserting the legs into the sockets and then positioning the voting booth in the upright position can be quite frustrating. This problem can be even more troublesome to the senior-citizen workers commonly seen working at voting places. Thus, a need exists for a portable voting booth that overcomes this problem.